I Bet My Life
by Yondaime Namikaze
Summary: Hiro looks back and reminisces on his memories of Tadashi and how his older brother has helped to shape the person that he has become. Told in three parts. FIRST PART: "Bot Fights and Older Brothers" SECOND PART: "Now I Tell A Single Truth" FINAL PART: "Please Forgive Me For All I've Done"
1. Memory 1: Bot Fights and Older Brothers

**Another Big Hero 6 short story. This one, though, is definitely only going to be three chapters in length. I'm excited about this little story, so I hope you like it.**

 **If you want to keep up-to-date with information about my stories, follow my fanfiction Twitter. (I'll also post some bonus content from time-to-time.) Current information is on my profile (on this site).**

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Memory 1: Bot Fights and Older Brothers

Hiro Hamada chanced a glance over toward the dark corner of the room. For a few hours now, he had pretended to be asleep, but, in reality, he had just pulled the covers up over his head and slowed his breathing. _**Is Tadashi asleep yet?**_ Hiro wondered silently. _**I hope so, because I need to get over to that bot fight.**_

No sound drifted from the corner where Tadashi's bed and the shade that separated the corner from the rest of the room was drawn shut. _**Good, I should be able to go now.**_ Hiro pulled back the covers and, with practiced quiet, picked up his fighting robot, Megabot, and headed downstairs. Even though it seemed that Tadashi was asleep, Hiro had learned in the past that Tadashi could be a very light sleeper when he wanted to be. Silently, Hiro crept out the door and pulled it shut as quietly as he could so as not to wake his brother or aunt. _**Success again! Now, how to get to the location of that bot fight?**_

When Tadashi had not been looking, Hiro had programmed a GPS to direct him to the location of the bot fight. The location looked familiar. He had probably attended a past bot fight at this location sometime, but he could not quite remember when. Hiro had been sneaking out at night to go bot fighting for almost a year now. Not every night…but most nights. Sure, bot fighting wasn't the smartest hobby to engage and immerse himself in, but it was fun and he earned pretty great winnings.

As Hiro approached the bot fight location, he could begin to hear the grinding of metal upon metal and the cheering crowd of spectators. _**Sounds like it's going to be another fun night!**_ Hiro zipped up his favorite navy hoodie and pulled the hood up over his messy black hair. Inside the pockets of his hoodie, Hiro had stowed away some cash, taken from his stash of previous winnings. He had a good amount stored up from his previous wins so he was able to take more than usual with him for tonight's fight. There was even some saved up back at home…just in case he did not win any fights tonight.

Like always, Hiro's short stature allowed him to sneak in past all the other bigger (and scarier) bot fighters gathered in the make-shift arena. A fight was already in progress, so Hiro had time to analyze the two fighters. He had not seen them before (which actually wasn't uncommon—bot fighters tended to come and go, especially when there were several fights occurring on any given night). _**Good! No matter who wins this match, I can challenge them with my strategy.**_ In one of his earliest fights, Hiro had watched a timid new bot fighter step up. She had been nervous and made several mistakes which had led to her ultimate defeat. Hiro had taken notes from watching her. If he pretended to be new and trick his opponents, then he could challenge them a second time (they were always greedy for more money) and catch them off-guard, all while taking the victory right from under their unsuspecting (and stunned speechless) noses. It worked every time…well, except for that one time when Hiro had made the mistake of challenging a fighter who remembered his tactic. That was the night Hiro noted to only use his strategy against those he'd never fought before…or those he had not fought for quite some time and forgot his name, face, and strategy.

The match ended with the sickening crunch of twisted metal. Another bot destroyed and another bot fighter back to square one. For a brief moment, Hiro wondered if the defeated bot fighter would leave and create another bot to return someday. Bot fighting was a tough business; rounds were deemed "fight to the death"…or forfeit, but the latter option rarely ever happened. Many bot fighters, once defeated, would leave and never come back. Hiro assumed they figured it to be too much hassle to return home and build another bot. Diehard bot fighters, though, had no problem building new bots, but many never needed to anyway because they just never lost.

"Who's next? Who will challenge me?" gloated the winner.

 _ **Now's my chance!**_ "C-Can I try?" Hiro asked, stepping forward. By now, he had perfected the tone of voice used by new bot fighters. "I have a robot. I built it myself." In his hand, he clutched Megabot, making the bot look weak and defenseless.

The victor of the last bot fight sighed, as if this challenge would be way too easy and a waste of time. "Might as well. I could use some more money!"

Before taking a seat, Hiro placed his money into the tray held by the fight's referee. The young Hamada stared into the eyes of his opponent before looking sharply away (just like a new bot fighter would do).

"Fighters ready? Begin!" the referee yelled out, side-stepping as the fight began.

Like always, Hiro threw the first match and feigned distress, begging for another chance. His opponent, though unimpressed with Hiro's "lame" bot, consented and Hiro added more money to the tray. Across the arena, his opponent smirked and readied his bot. _**You won't be smirking for much longer.**_ "Megabot, destroy!" Hiro's experienced fingers seemed to move on their own as he commanded the moves to take down his opponent's bot.

It took less than a minute for Hiro's Megabot to reduce the opponent's both to a pile of scrap metal. The referee passed Hiro the plate of money and he stuffed it quickly into his hoodie's front pocket. "That was fun."

"Oh, was it?" his opponent spoke up, standing.

 _ **Great…he's one to hold a grudge. I was hoping for an easy night. Guess I'll just have to make a break for it.**_

Hiro's former opponent approached quickly but was cut off by a bright shining light. Turning, Hiro found a welcome sight. "Tadashi!"

His older brother tossed him a familiar helmet and Hiro jumped aboard Tadashi's moped. Tadashi took off without giving Hiro time to secure his helmet. Luckily, he was used to this means of escape and had no trouble fastening the chin strap while Tadashi sped through the back alleyways of San Fransokyo. Tadashi was also experienced at bailing Hiro out of trouble. He never took his eyes from the road in front of him as he scolded his younger brother for such reckless actions.

Tadashi did not slow down until they were out of the alleyways and well on their way back to the café. The older Hamada had finished scolding Hiro and kept silent. Hiro felt bad that he caused Tadashi so much trouble, but he also enjoyed bot fighting (even despite the dangers it posed). Tadashi did not speak again until both brothers were safely back upstairs in their shared bedroom.

"You graduated high school when you were thirteen and what have you done since then? Hiro, when are you going to start doing something with that big brain of yours?"

"What? Go to college like you? So people can tell me stuff I already know?" Hiro mocked. He had not meant for his words to come out with such bite, but he couldn't take them back once he'd said them. "I don't understand, though, Tadashi. You were asleep. How did you…?"

Tadashi's voice softened slightly. "I knew something wasn't right. I could feel it. I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. So I went over to your bed to check on you and when I saw that you were gone, I knew why I'd woken up."

Hiro looked down at the wooden floor below his feet. Now he was feeling even worse. It was always like this. He only thought of himself, never his brother. His brother whom he kept up at night by sneaking out to go bot fighting. His brother who then had to attend class the next day after only a short amount of sleep the night before. He, Hiro Hamada, was a horrible brother.

"Listen, Hiro," Tadashi spoke again, kneeling down to look his younger brother directly in the eye. His voice had softened now, taking on an almost sad tone. "You need to stop this, this sneaking out to go bot fighting. I wish I could say that I'd always there to bail you out, but I can't know that with any certainty…and neither can you. You need to stop this before something serious happens."

Hiro understood what Tadashi was asking of him. It seemed simple enough, but… "I'm sorry, Tadashi. I can't promise that."

"Why not?" Tadashi pleaded, desperation creeping into his tired voice.

"Because I love bot fighting. It's exhilarating. It's fun. Yes, it's dangerous, but I love doing it. I know that you can't always be there to protect me or, as you said, 'bail me out' but I never asked for your help anyway. I don't need you, okay? I can do this on my own. Just let me do what I like. Just let me go bot fighting and quit trying to stop me!"

Hiro swore he saw his brother's eyes water as Tadashi stood up without another word and returned to his bed in the corner, slamming his separator shade behind him. _**Tadashi…**_

888

It had been almost two years since Tadashi's unexpected death. Almost two years since Hiro, along with Tadashi's friends, formed Big Hero 6. Almost two years later and Hiro could not forget his brother.

Hiro, relaxing after another day of classes at SFIT, lay upon his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He was reminiscing the good times he'd had with Tadashi, remembering the moments with his brother. Hiro liked to do this every so often; it helped to keep Tadashi's memory alive. He had just finished reliving some experiences from his bot fighting days. Then he had felt like such a rebel, sneaking out a night and then telling off his brother for trying to help him. Now he just felt like a fool. If only I would've known. Tadashi, I'm so sorry. You were absolutely right. You wouldn't always be there. Why did you have to…why did you have to run into that fire?

Hiro thought back to the bot fighting experiences he had just relived. _**Back then, I took the path that you would never want from me. I let you down then, didn't I? Luckily you stopped me before I went too deep into the dark depths of bot fighting. You, Tadashi, convinced me to strive for better. To attend your nerd school.**_

Hiro laughed a little at those words. Nerd school. He had deemed SFIT with that description when Tadashi had started attending classes there. Now he, Hiro, attended classes at SFIT…and loved every moment of it.

Thinking still on his bot fighting days, Hiro frowned at the memory. _**So many sleepless nights where you were waiting up for me while I was just a slave to the night, drawn to the undercover bot fights. And that night when I made you cry. I told you that I didn't need your help, but…Tadashi, I was wrong. I do need you. More than you'd ever know…and now you're gone.**_

On the brink of tears, Hiro still found it in him to smile through the pain. _**Man, I really gave you hell through all the years, didn't I?**_

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 **Oh man…this turned out even better than I'd expected! I really hope you like this first chapter. Oh, and any song lyrics taken from Imagine Dragons's song "I Bet My Life"…yeah, I don't own them.**

 **Thank you all for reading and supporting I Bet My Life.**

 **Posted: June 1, 2015**


	2. Memory 2: Now I Tell A Single Truth

**Two and a half months…sorry that it took so long. Here's the next part to this three-part story.**

 **Review Replies:**

 _ **The Amazing Cat (anonymous)**_ **: Yeah…it's a bit of a sad little story. Here's a new chapter.**

 _ **Dirtkid123**_ **: That's the second time I heard this. I guess that means my venture into a sadder storyline actually worked. Here's the next chapter.**

 _ **Ginger Inc**_ **: Thanks!**

 _ **Alysee (anonymous)**_ **: It does fit well, doesn't it? I heard this song when it came out and just knew I needed to write a Big Hero 6 story based on it.**

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Memory 2: Now I Tell A Single Truth

It had been months since Hiro formed Big Hero 6. It had been months since Big Hero 6—a group of "nerds"—took down the villain Yokai (who, to Hiro's dismay, had turned out to be Professor Robert Callaghan seeking revenge against billionaire Alastair Krei). In the months that followed, Big Hero 6 gained recognition. They were featured in newspapers and those who heard about them could not believe that the group members were all just teenagers. Originally, Hiro had formed the group to stop Callaghan from unleashing his crazy revenge plan. However, as Big Hero 6 was featured in the newspapers, the group began to assist the San Fransokyo Police Department in apprehending some of the more elusive criminals. Their efforts helped to lower the crime rate in the city and there were many days when Hiro's thoughts would turn back to Tadashi. What would his older brother say? Tadashi had originally built Baymax to help people. That was all Tadashi wanted—to help lots of people. He gave up his life for that very purpose. Would Tadashi approve of Hiro's superhero career? The younger brother did like to think that Tadashi would be proud of how Hiro had turned his life around in the time since his death.

When Hiro had some downtime (which was often rare between his classes at SFIT and his tasks with the Big Hero 6), he liked to sometimes walk down to the cemetery and visit Tadashi's final resting place. That was the place where Hiro found himself today. He knew the path by heart and he let his feet guide him by memory down the path to Tadashi's headstone. Tadashi had been buried right next to the brothers' parents and someday years and years in the future, Hiro would also lie with them as well.

Finding Tadashi's headstone, Hiro kneeled down and began to absent-mindedly pick the stray grass away from the flat marble service. Every time that Hiro visited Tadashi's grave, he spent the first several minutes pulling away the stray weeds that had threatened to grow over the headstone since his last visit. Hiro wanted to believe that he had to pull these weeds, but the truth was that he just needed the time to collect his thoughts. Once he started his one-sided conversation to Tadashi, though, the words would come easier.

"It's been awhile since I was here last, huh, Tadashi?" Hiro began. "I've been busy with…classes and the Big Hero 6 work." Hiro fell silent and looked down at the headstone, reading the carved words again for the thousandth time. Aunt Cass had chosen the inscription. At the time, she had asked Hiro to write it, but he had been too depressed to even think about it, so she and Tadashi's friends came up with something suitable to remember Tadashi.

Even as tears came to his eyes again, Hiro smiled at the memory of his brother. "I've probably told you before about Big Hero 6, but…I'll mention it again because I know you'd never believe that I organized it. I guess that's the funny thing about it, huh, Tadashi? You kept pushing me to be so much more. I'll bet you never guessed that I'd form a superhero group. I never guessed I'd do such a thing either. Until you showed me around your nerd lab, I was content with bot fighting. Yet, you helped me to strive for better. Just like always."

The wind tousled Hiro's already-messy hair. Hiro smiled as if imagining it as Tadashi's way of hearing his words. "Things just…never seem to work out as planned. When we formed Big Hero 6, Tadashi, we didn't set out to be superheroes. It just kinda happened that way. Still, you wanted to help a lot of people and, as the Big Hero 6, we do just that. It's exhausting work sometimes, but knowing all the lives that we helped, it's truly worth it. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you, Tadashi. If you'd never died, we'd all just be regular nerds. I hate to think that…that the fire needed to happen to bring about the formation of Big Hero 6, but that's the truth and I'd be wrong to deny it."

Hiro ran a hand through his hair. With his other hand, he traced the inscription of Tadashi's name on the headstone. "Sometimes, though, Tadashi, I find myself wondering what you would think if you were still here. Would you be proud of me for forming Big Hero 6 and for the good that we do for San Fransokyo and other nearby cities? Would you be nervous and overprotective like you used to get when I would sneak out to go bot fighting? I'd like to say that our superhero jobs are less dangerous than bot fighting, but it can get kinda risky sometimes. No worries, though, Bro, I'm not planning on racing to see you again. I miss you and all, but I'm not ready to die yet and you know how stubborn I can be. Besides, I have Baymax and he'd never let me knowingly place myself in harm's way."

Pulling out his cell phone, Hiro checked the time. He'd been at the cemetery for almost an hour. _**I should probably think about getting home before Aunt Cass starts wondering where I am.**_ "Well, Tadashi, I should probably be heading home soon. You know how Aunt Cass can get if we are too late coming home."

Pushing himself up from the ground, Hiro looked down again at the polished surface of the headstone. One more time he read the familiar words. "I've told a million lies to you," he muttered, "but now I tell a single truth. Tadashi, you motivated me and pushed me and encouraged to strive to be more. You're the reason for all my successes. Even though you're gone, Tadashi, there's you in everything I do."

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 **There were so many ways I thought about ending this chapter, but I liked this one…even if it is a bit shorter than I would've liked it to be. Hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter! Only one more left in this little short story…and it should be a longer chapter again next time.**

 **Thank you all for reading and supporting I Bet My Life!**

 **Posted: August 25, 2015**


	3. Memory 3: Please Forgive Me

**Here we are! The last chapter of I Bet My Life. I'm glad that everyone has enjoyed this little story. I'll probably write another Big Hero 6 of some sort after posting this chapter, but I don't know what it'll be yet.**

 **Review Replies:**

 _ **Dirtkid123**_ **: One last tearjerker chapter for this story!**

 _ **Cassidy**_ _ **Wang**_ **: The wait's over. Here's the next chapter.**

 _ **The Amazing Cat (anonymous)**_ **: Thanks! Here it is! Hope you like it!**

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Memory 3: Please Forgive Me For All I've Done

Tadashi Hamada looked down upon his little brother from his place in the afterlife. Many believed that those who died could do just that—watch over their living family members that they left behind. Still others believed that death was final and that those who passed on before you were just gone. Forever. In his time in the afterlife, Tadashi had met some who preferred not to watch over those they had left; they said that it was just too hard to watch their family grieve over their deaths. Admittedly, Tadashi understood. The first months after his death were the hardest. He watched Hiro fall into a deep depression. The boy would not eat or tinker with gadgets or...anything. Hiro would just sit and stare at his battle bot. Desperately, Tadashi had wished he could reach out and comfort Hiro, but it was impossible…and accepting that was the hardest thing Tadashi had ever faced.

Tadashi had continued to watch over Hiro and was relieved to see his little brother slowly pull himself from the depression. Hiro, his friends from SFIT, and the robot Baymax (that Tadashi had designed as a health care assistant) had formed a superhero group they called Big Hero 6. At first Tadashi had been nervous at the thought that his little brother was leading a crime-fighting superhero group. Tadashi loved his brother, but he was not yet ready to see Hiro join him in the afterlife. Still, Tadashi was proud of Hiro. He had pushed the boy, encouraged him to be so much more than just a lowlife bot fighter. Finally, Hiro had achieved this; he'd even started attending classes at SFIT.

Every so often Hiro would stop by Tadashi's resting place and Tadashi enjoyed listening to the one-sided conversations and the words his little brother would speak to his headstone. Hiro would fill Tadashi in and tell him about everything that was going on his life. Tadashi's only regret was that he could not uphold his end of the conversation. Well, that he couldn't speak with Hiro. Tadashi did often find himself answering Hiro from the afterlife, but his words did not translate to Hiro in the world of the living.

At first, Hiro had not visited Tadashi's grave and the older brother knew that it was due to the boy's depression. Hiro's visits were still infrequent, but Tadashi didn't blame Hiro. As the boy always apologized, his schoolwork and Big Hero 6 tasks took precedence. For that, Tadashi understood.

Recently, Hiro had returned again to fill Tadashi in about how things were going in his life. Tadashi had been sad to see Hiro leave again, but he understood; he did not want to see Hiro to get into trouble with Aunt Cass for staying out too late. Besides, Hiro would come back someday. Eventually.

A small tear rolled from Tadashi's eyes as he watched Hiro walk away, heading toward the Lucky Cat Café. Just like always, Tadashi regretted running into the burning exhibition hall. It had been a stupid decision that had cost him everything. Now, Hiro was growing up before his eyes and he wasn't there to share in the milestones of his little brother's life. There were more to come and all Tadashi could do was watch.

One thing for which Tadashi was grateful was that no one blamed him for his actions. They all knew how selfless he was and they knew that he'd wanted to help others. That was why he'd built Baymax, for instance. Tadashi knew that the his friends and Hiro had all been saddened when they'd learned of his death, but they also knew that, just as had happened, Tadashi would never have hesitated to enter that burning building…even if it had been a stupid idea.

"Sometimes, Hiro, I wish that I had never run into that building," Tadashi muttered sadly. "My stupid decision left you on your own. I mean…sure you have Aunt Cass and the guys from SFIT, but…we were all that each other had since the accident where Mom and Dad... I'm just glad to see that you've opened up and allowed Aunt Cass and Baymax and everyone to help heal those wounds that my death caused." Tadashi sighed and wiped at a tear that had fallen from his eyes. "Hiro…please forgive me for all I've done."

888

After returning home from the cemetery and eating the dinner that Aunt Cass had prepared for him, Hiro retired to his bedroom. He had class tomorrow, so he figured that he would sleep early that night. Before going to bed, though, Hiro decided to busy himself with creating new plans for the next set of upgrades to Baymax. With the blueprints spread out in front of him, Hiro wrote in little notes to himself and drew out various possible options.

Ideas raced through Hiro's mind and he drew them out on the blueprints. By the time that Hiro hit a roadblock in the planning, his blueprints were cluttered from all the ideas he had attempted to draw out on them. Hiro sat with his white pencil clutched tightly in right hand. He racked his plan for any more possible ideas, but when none came, he placed the pencil back in the cup on his desk and rolled up the blueprints, securing them with a rubber band. Someday, when the idea block resolved itself, Hiro would return to the plans and assess further which upgrades would do the best good for Baymax, both as a health care assistant and a member of the Big Hero 6.

Just when Hiro was thinking that it was probably time to think about sleep, his eyes fell upon Megabot sitting atop his desk. Though Hiro no longer engaged in bot fighting, he still kept Megabot. Megabot had been one of the first truly successful robots Hiro had ever built (even though he had been tinkering in robotics since he was quite young). Besides, keeping Megabot around served as a constant reminder to Hiro of his past and, like Tadashi, offered encouragement to continue striving, using his "gifts"—his genuineness—to help others. For several more minutes, Hiro stared up at Megabot. He laughed a little at the yellow face with its goofy smile. Maybe someday he'd upgrade Megabot, but he did not know why he would need to if he was not using the little robot for bot fighting.

Thinking more on that possibility, though, he decided that maybe he wouldn't upgrade Megabot. Maybe he'd just leave the little fighting bot there in its spot atop his desk. That part of his life—the late night bot fights and Megabot—were in his past…right where Tadashi had always wanted them to be.

Rising from his desk chair, Hiro plopped down on his bed without bothering to change out of his daytime attire. Switching off his bedroom light, Hiro spent several minutes staring up at his dark ceiling. As he thought back to Megabot atop his shelf, Hiro couldn't help but to realize the role that he may have, indirectly, played in Tadashi's death. He hated to think about it, but the thoughts were persistent. _**Tadashi was right all along. Instead of wasting my time bot fighting, I could've been more open to the idea of doing something productive after graduating high school. I could've asked Tadashi about his "nerd school" earlier. Why was I so reluctant to even look into attending SFIT anyway? I love robotics and there were so many programs that I would've enjoyed. I know that I definitely enjoy studying robotics now. I would never have attended that exhibition that night if I had already been enrolled at SFIT. If I wasn't at the exhibition, Tadashi wouldn't have been there either and he'd still…**_ Hiro paused his racing thoughts that had seemed to just speed up and flash faster and faster through his mind.

In the darkness, Hiro felt a single tear slip from his eyes and roll down his cheeks. As he fell asleep, one single thought played through Hiro's mind. _**Tadashi…please forgive me for all I've done…**_

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 **And…that's a wrap! I really liked how this little three-shot turned out and I'm super glad that I decided to run with this idea when it popped into my head. This story may be finished, but, as I said before, I'm thinking on other BH6 stories that I may start writing soon. We shall see. I might have to flesh some ideas out, but I'm not done with this fandom yet! I'll be back with something.**

 **Thank you all for reading and supporting I Bet My Life!**

 **Posted: August 31, 2015**


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